The mixer was in full swing. After we got the DJ to stop playing garbage tunes and get the people going with a few ’80s jams, things were finally starting to get active out on the dance floor. We filled up our cups from a pitcher of neon-blue beverage known simply as a “trashcan,” and could taste the Red Bull blending with the five types of alcohol within as we made our way over to a group of girls. We had a good relationship with the sorority, and a few of my friends were dating some of the members.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. A dervish of arms, legs, and pelvic gyrations, my buddy Deuce was making his way hard to the center of the stage. I couldn’t help but notice, right in my line of sight, that there were two cute girls who also happened to take note of the dancing Deuce. Both seemed equally intrigued, as they tilted their heads down, eyes up, with the kind of gaze that just screams things are happing downstairs. Twirling their hair, they seemed momentarily lost in thought.

Then one broke their stare and glanced over at her friend. After an exchange of words that seemed friendly, but were most likely anything but, they went their separate ways from the table they’d been standing at. The first headed for the back of the dance floor to try and reach my buddy that way. The second went straight in like a laser beam, attempting to beat her way through the crowd as if she was welding a machete. By pure serendipity, they ended up reaching my friend exactly at the same time. One grabbed his left arm, the other his right, trying to pull him in opposite directions while giving each other get-back glares. Somehow, though, they managed to be smiling throughout the entire ordeal. Unfortunately for my friend, he ended up getting greedy that night and tried to bed them both at the same time. In doing so, he lost his shot with either. Lesson learned.

It is a rare opportunity when a guy has two girls vying for his attention at the same time. Girls can be notoriously competitive and possessive of the men they like, and nothing boosts a man’s standing in eyes of an on-the-fence female like having another girl show interest. This is why girls can make such good wing women: a flirting girl is essentially raising the challenge flag for other females to take their shot. When you combine that attitude with the occasionally competing egos that arise in the sorority environment, it doesn’t become too far-fetched to see how these things develop. Friends turn to enemies and back again in the blink of an eye.

So how can you tell if this situation is happening to you? Maybe one is trying to lay groundwork for the other, and pursuing the wrong choice could leave you all alone at the end of the night.

First, a girl who’s merely buttering you up for someone else will actually give you genuine compliments about the other chick waiting in the wings. A competitive girl, however, will not outright slander her fellow sister but instead drop hints about her shortcomings through passive-aggressive whispers. Another big sign is if she makes an effort to touch you. A girl helping another out will make sure to avoid any contact so as not to upset her.

Finally, the biggest sign that you’re a hot commodity among multiple chicks is if you start getting free alcohol. Girls know this is a real attention-getter, and will use it to prove how much more interested in you they are than the other. This is her way of making sure she stands out among the other flirtations being tossed your way. If she buys you a drink, you can bet that there’s another girl somewhere scheming her own ways to grab you off the dance floor. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Like in the case of my buddy Deuce, trying to parlay this event into a threesome situation almost always ends in disaster. No matter how competitive these girls get, after all, they’re still sisters, and that trumps any dude trying to get with them at the same time — unless they’re an extra special breed of slutty. They will turn on you and back to each other like they’ve been besties forever. The only play? Make it known early you like one and stick with your decision. After all, the old saying goes “one in the bed is worth two in the bush.” Right?.